A New Kind of Year
by Em Kay Who
Summary: One year has passed since the Doctor and Rose's twins were born. One incredible year. Just a little one-shot that fits between A New Kind of Human Nature and its sequel A New Kind of Life.


**Hello all! This is just a little one-shot that fits between A New Kind of Human Nature and it's sequel A New Kind of Life. I went ahead and posted this as a crossover with Torchwood, although it's really not much. Just mentions of the Torchwood team. Hope you enjoy the fluff cause the sequel's a bit angst-y. (If you look closely, you might see a couple of hints at what might be in the sequel.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood. That all belongs to the BBC.**

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One year. One incredible year since he had once again become a father. This time to a pair of brilliant twins. Jack Timothy Tyler and Andrea Martha Tyler. Of course they were, brilliant. They took after their mum of course. Alright, and maybe a bit of him. They were crawling by four months, talking by six, and walking by seven. And they were utterly exhausting. The Doctor loved every minute of it.

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Their first birthday party had been held in the Torchwood Hub in Cardiff and the guest list included the entire Torchwood Three team and two of the Doctor's former companions, Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones. The latter of which surprised everyone by announcing her engagement to a young doctor name Tom Milligan. When asked why she didn't bring her fiance along, Martha admitted to not having told him about her involvement with anything... alien. Shorter after her announcement, the Doctor watched as Rose pulled Martha to the side and had a private conversation with her. He made a mental note to ask his wife about it later.

The presents were all perfect and the twins both enjoyed them immensely, despite everyone admitting that they had no idea what to get them. Do you know how hard it is to shop for two one-year olds who had all of time and space at their disposal? From Dr. Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato (the former of which helped deliver the twins), Jay and Annie received a collection of Dr. Seuss books. The Doctor deemed the present to be fantastic and told them all to remind him to take the twins on a trip to meet Theodor Seuss Geisel when they were older. Next came, Gwen Cooper who bought the twins both some puzzles, which she thought were a little advanced for their age, but was assured by her boss, Captain Jack Harkness, that they would be just fine. Ianto Jones and Jack presented the twins each with their own plushie versions of the TARDIS.

"Where did you ever find these? They're brilliant!" Rose asked in wonder as she held up one of the fluffy police boxes.

"Oh, it's not difficult if you know the right people," Ianto told her with a blush.

Captain Jack also admitted to having another present for his godchildren, but, they wouldn't receive it until they reached adulthood. That made the Doctor slightly leery, however, Rose placed a gentle hand on his arm and implored him to trust their old friend.

Now Sarah Jane's present was the Doctor's absolute favorite. She knitted each twin a mini version of his old multi-colored scarf that he used to wear back when he traveled with her. Of course, the gift then prompted Jack to demand to see pictures of him with the scarf. The Doctor tried to deny he had any, but, was betrayed by Rose when she slipped into their time ship and procured the evidence.

"Gotta say, Doc, love those curls!" the Captain said with a wink when he caught sight of the Doctor's old hair.

The Time Lord tugged the picture out of his hands and stated, "Yes, yes, we've all had a bit of a laugh. Now I think my children have waited long enough to finish opening their presents, don't you agree?"

Finally they got to Martha's presents. Annie received a small silver locket with a rose engraved on the front. When opened, the right side had a picture of the Doctor and Rose holding the little girl after she was born, and the left side held a picture of her with Jack and Martha on the same day. Jay received a small wooden treasure chest that had the moon carved on the front, surrounded by stars. Inside the chest, there were two pictures, similar to the one's Annie had only with the little boy in her place.

At last, they reached the final present which was from their parents. Both toddlers were ecstatic as they opened the large box and realised that inside of it was a miniature, new and improved, version of the Doctor's old "companion," K-9. The robot dog was an absolute hit.

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It had been a lovely afternoon. Everyone in high spirits and laughing as the twins smashed their chocolate cake (with banana icing, of course) all over their faces. The mood was light and airy and some might call it perfect. It hit the Doctor then that it could never last. While he couldn't see the timelines of those closest to him, he could get a feel for them and they were starting to ripple. Something was coming. A shiver ran up the Doctor's spine as he watched Owen laugh at one of Jay's silly antics. Another shiver when Tosh snapped a picture of the Annie's chocolate covered face.

"Stop it," the voice of his wife commanded him.

The Doctor frowned when he realised that he hadn't even heard her step beside him. "Stop what?"

"You're brooding. I can feel it from across the room. Please don't. Not today. It's Jay and Annie's birthday."

"I'm not, Rose. Honestly. Just something feels off... Something is-"

"Don't you dare say it," she said fiercely. "Don't you dare tell me a storm is coming. Today has been lovely. We're with our family and friends. Can't we please just enjoy today?"

The Doctor pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "You're right. I'm sorry, love. Come on, let's see if our offspring has left us any cake." He took a deep breath and shook off the feeling of dread that was hanging in the back of his mind. Rose was right. Just this once, he was going to be selfish and for this one day pretend that the universe didn't rest on his shoulders.

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Later that night, after goodbyes were made to the party guests, the Doctor stood in the doorway of his and Rose's en suite and watched as his wife attempted to finish bathing their children. Rassilon, she was gorgeous. Even with her clothes drenched and her mascara smeared down one cheek. A smirk crossed his face as he got a glorious view of her backside while she bent over the tub.

"Oi!" she exclaimed loudly, bringing him out of his lustful thoughts. "You gonna ogle my bum all night or are you going to help me wash your children?"

He slipped his suit jacket off and began rolling up his sleeves. "They're your children too, love."

"Yeah? Well, right now they're covered in cake and icing and being right little pests about letting me wash it off. So I think, husband dear, that they are definitely your children at the moment."

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With the Doctor's help (if that's what he wanted to call it), they were able to bathe the twins in record time and have them both asleep in their beds an hour later. The room still marveled Rose. Once the twins had started walking, the TARDIS created both Jay and Annie each their own room, side by side. But at night, the wall separating them would disappear so instead they were together in one large room. It was absolutely brilliant. The right side was claimed by Annie and was painted a pale pink, with butterflies as the main theme. Jay's side was painted a dark midnight blue and was filled with various stars and planets.

The Doctor stood behind Rose and placed his arm's around her torso as they both watched their babies sleep soundly. It wasn't until he felt something wet hit his arm that he realised Rose was crying. Pulling her from the room, so they didn't wake the twins, the Doctor led her to their bed and pulled her back into his embrace. "What's wrong, love?" he asked gently.

"I just... I just wish my mum was here," she admitted in a shaky tone.

Hugging her closer, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

"S' not you're fault. I just wish she could see them at least, ya know? She would love them to pieces."

"I'm sure she would. In fact, I guarantee she does love them, despite having never met them."

"I know," Rose agreed with a light hiccup.

"What did you and Martha talk about earlier when you pulled her away?" the Doctor asked, wanting to change the subject.

Rose sat up straighter and said, "Just asked her why she hadn't told Tom about her travels with you or what she really does with UNIT. Which, by the way, it was you that got her that job, wasn't it?"

"I may have made some phone calls..."

She smirked. "Figured. I then basically told her that she needed to tell him the truth. They can't get married if such a big part of her life is a secret to him. It would never work."

"What did she say to that?"

"She agreed to think about it. She doesn't think he'll stay with her though, if he knew the truth."

"Hm."

"My thoughts exactly." After spending a few more minutes in her husband's embrace, Rose got up and began to prepare for bed. "Are you staying in here with me tonight or do you have things to work on?"

"Definitely staying here," the Doctor told her.

"Really?" she called out from the en suite. "Didn't you sleep last night? You rarely need two nights in a row."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" he called back to her.

Rose appeared in the doorway. "Oh," she said with a sly smile.

"Now you're catching on," he said as he got up and pulled her back to the bed. "The thing is, one year ago today, you gave birth to our beautiful son and daughter, but, that's not all. You also left me for a few minutes. You left and I thought my life was over. But, then you did the most impossible thing. You came back to me. You came back and now you're going to stay with me for forever. So tonight, my wife, I plan on showing you just how much I appreciate the wonderful gifts you gave me one year ago."

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